Dad, open the door. I'll bring your mistress back for you.

"I heard that you went to the prince's residence today?" the empress dowager asked casually.

Shen Chuning was startled. According to her analysis just now, no one should be following her.

But she had just left Master Bai Yu's place when she stopped by the prince's residence, and then came to Shoukang Palace. How did the Empress Dowager know this?

Beads of sweat formed on Shen Chuning's forehead. "To answer the Empress Dowager, ever since I knew it was the Fifth Prince who rescued An Ning at the palace gate that day, I've been thinking about thanking him in person. When I came out of my master's place, I happened to pass by the prince's residence, so I went in. But I heard from the servants that the Fifth Prince didn't live there..."

"Although the separation between men and women in the Great Yong Dynasty is not that strict, this is still the palace. You are a girl, and running to the prince with a maid is bound to give people a reason to criticize you."

Shen Chuning deeply felt that living in this palace was like walking on thin ice. "Yes, I won't do that again in the future. I wonder if the Fifth Prince..."

"He is in the cold palace of Beisanso. Alas, he is also a poor child." The Queen Mother sighed.

Shen Chuning asked cautiously, "The Fifth Prince has reached the age to study, so why doesn't he live in the prince's quarters?"

"The emperor might not even remember his existence, so who would care whether he reads or not?"

Seeing that the Queen Mother looked tired, Shen Chuning stood up and said goodbye.

On the way to send Shen Chuning back to Lingfang Pavilion, Nanny Jian told her that the fifth prince's biological mother was originally a maidservant of Concubine Qin. The emperor favored her after getting drunk and casually gave her the title of concubine and left her alone. Since there was no special palace arranged for her, she had been living in Concubine Qin's Yaohua Palace.

At first, Concubine Qin was a little wary. After meeting for more than a month, the emperor did not mention Sun Da Ying again, so she found a fault and sent her to the North Three Prisons.

It was not known whether Sun Da Ying hid it well or no one really cared. When the fifth prince was a few months old, he fell ill and needed to see an imperial physician. Only then did the palace discover that Sun Da Ying had been sent to the cold palace while pregnant.

Later, although the fifth prince was included in the imperial edict, His Majesty did not say where he would be sent, so he continued to live in the cold palace with Sun Da Ying.

The year before last, Sun agreed to go. The Empress Dowager felt sorry for the child and occasionally asked Nanny Jian to send some food over.

As the Queen Mother, it was not convenient for her to take care of the Fifth Prince too much, for fear that he would be targeted by someone with ulterior motives. So Nanny Jian asked Shen Chuning to visit him more often when she was free.

Shen Chuning thought all the way, the emperor had five sons in total.

The eldest prince's mother was Concubine Xian, who was granted the title of Prince of Ning and sent to her fiefdom at an early age. She would be executed for treason in the future.

Shen Chuning and the third prince have an irreconcilable feud, so there is absolutely no possibility of any cooperation between them.

If the Crown Prince follows the same path as in his previous life and does not live to see the Emperor's death, then only the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince will be left.

The Fourth Prince was born to Concubine Jing, whose maternal family was powerful. If the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, the Shen family would certainly not gain much benefit from it.

From this perspective, supporting the fifth prince is the most cost-effective option.

But the fifth prince in the previous life was cowardly and incompetent, and had never been at the center of the power struggle.

Shen Chuning was thinking so hard that her head ached. She decided to put it aside for now and make plans after she met the fifth prince.

Thinking all the way, I unknowingly returned to Lingfang Pavilion.

Princess Nan Yan sat in front of a stone table in the courtyard of Lingfang Pavilion. There was a zither on the table. Princess Nan Yan plucked the strings intermittently, but no tune formed.

She stared blankly ahead, not even noticing Shen Chuning standing next to her.

Shen Chuning said, "Sister Nan Yan, even though it's the beginning of spring, it's still a little chilly in the morning and evening. Why don't you come inside and sit down? Be careful not to catch a cold."

Princess Nan Yan suddenly came back to her senses, her eyes regaining their usual brilliance. "A Ning, you're back. What took you so long?"

Shen Chuning sat down opposite her and said, "I went to Shoukang Palace. After all, I entered the palace through the Empress Dowager's relationship, so I had to inform her."

Princess Nan Yan breathed a sigh of relief, "As I should."

Then she bit her lip and asked, "Did Mr. Bai Yu give you any trouble?"

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Master didn't make things difficult for An Ning."

"Master?" Princess Nan Yan's voice was choked.

She didn't understand why her husband, who always treated everyone equally, suddenly became so special to Shen Chuning.

For more than two years, she was obviously the best and most serious student, but his eyes never lingered on her for even a moment.

She practiced hard every day, and calluses formed layer upon layer on her fingers, just to get praise from her teacher.

But after only one day, Aning was treated differently by the gentleman.

She was not jealous of An Ning, she was just envious to the point of madness.

"My master is familiar with my fourth uncle. He couldn't bear to see me living a lazy life, so he accepted me as his apprentice and taught me to play the flute." Shen Chuning explained.

Princess Nanyan was a little skeptical, "Is it really just because of your fourth uncle?"

Shen Chuning took Princess Nan Yan's hand and said, "Why else could it be? Sister Nan Yan, you know me. I can't stand hardship. In the past, when there were performances like playing the zither and singing at banquets, I always walked away, for fear that I would be called. If it weren't for Fourth Uncle intervening, afraid that this matter would reach my grandmother's ears, I would never have wanted to become a disciple."

Princess Nan Yan burst into laughter and said, "It's so late now. You didn't have dinner at Shoukang Palace, did you? I asked Aunt Fangruo to leave some food for you when you come back."

Princess Nanyan took Shen Chuning's hand and walked into the house. In the end, Shen Chuning did not tell her master what he said about him already having a lover.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was the seventh day of March, the day when Shen Chuning took her first bath.

She was busy with her studies these days, and she was also busy building relationships with several princesses and young ladies from aristocratic families, so she ultimately couldn't find the time to visit the Fifth Prince at the North Third Residence.

These past few days were not without results. She invited these young ladies from aristocratic families to go to the hot spring resort on the ninth day of the first lunar month to enjoy the flowers.

At the end of the Shen hour on the seventh day of the first lunar month, Shen Chuning had just walked to the palace gate when she saw Shen Chengliu sitting in his carriage, bored, with a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth.

Shen Chuning stepped forward happily, "Sixth brother, when did you come?"

Shen Chengliu jumped off the carriage and helped Shen Chuning get on. "I've been waiting for you here after lunch. Why are you so slow? I saw several young ladies coming out just now."

After Shen Chuning sat down in the carriage, she curled her lips helplessly, "I have to say goodbye to Concubine Hui and the Princess. Do I have to leave secretly?"

After Shen Chuning finished speaking, she curiously asked Shen Chengliu, "Why didn't you send a driver to pick up An Ning? Why did Sixth Brother come in person?"

Shen Chengliu glanced at Shen Chuning with a complicated expression, and pretended to be relaxed and said, "You little heartless thing, I haven't seen you for almost ten days, and I miss you. It's still early, so I'll take you shopping. I'll buy you anything you like."

Shen Chengliu patted his purse as he spoke.

Shen Chuning looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Sixth brother, are you hiding something from me?"